


pink in the night

by warmestbloggerever



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst, Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M, Napping, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 07:58:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15990986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warmestbloggerever/pseuds/warmestbloggerever
Summary: Five times Nico and Will napped together, and one time they didn’t.





	pink in the night

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the song of the same name by Mitski. Hope you enjoy this!

i.

“And this is the fifth metatarsal,” Will was saying beside him on the bed. “Now, there are two types of fractures that can happen here, especially when there’s an ankle sprain or— Are you even listening?”

Nico opened his eyes.

“What?” he croaked, voice mildly hoarse from the bad angle his throat was in — head turned to look at Will while his torso was facing upwards on his bed. He stifled a yawn, not keen on being caught on the lie. “Yeah, sure.”

Will gave him an annoyed look, but then he seemed to choose another strategy — one that involved narrowing his eyes at him, all exaggerated and theatrical.

“Oh, _really_ _?_ ” he drew out the word, feigning great interest. “Then what is this called?” he pointed at the blue-colored part of skeleton foot drawn in the textbook he was holding. Will was purposefully hiding the name of the thing.

“A bone.”

“Nico.”

“Will.”

Will sighed.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, sounding tired himself. “I can tutor you whenever you’re not exhausted out of your mind.” He carefully closed the book as Nico let out a big yawn. “Why are you so tired again?”

“Haven’t been sleeping well. I guess,” he said dismissively.

Technically, it wasn’t a _lie_ _._ It was just that he hadn’t slept _at all_ in the past couple of days, which definitely meant he hadn’t been sleeping well.

Truth be told, he’d been making remarkable progress on the whole “not giving in to the overpowering urge to disappear and be away from everyone just because his mind was trying to convince him nothing mattered and that he shouldn’t be here” thing — or _whatever._ But, just a few days ago, he’d lived through another December 20th without Bianca, and he missed her. He doubted there would be a time when he didn’t miss her.

But getting back into the swing of things was, very slowly, becoming easier. He appreciated the routine, the certainty of the truth in “this is a bad time that will end”. He was sure he would soon be able to sleep at night without being plagued by nightmares.

“You got a headache?” Will touched his wrist, bringing him back from his thoughts.

“Hm? Yeah, a little.”

“Hm, that would be the sleep deprivation.” Will stared at some point in the ceiling as he scratched his cheek, pensive. “I honestly can’t guarantee that not sleeping now will result in a peaceful night of catching z’s, so… I guess napping would be okay.”

“When would napping ever be _not_ okay?”

“I don’t know, some people say it takes their sleepiness away and they can’t sleep at night.” He shrugged, finally setting the giant textbook on the bedside table and hugging one of the million pillows around them instead. “But you never seem to sleep regularly at night, anyway, so I think it’s worth a shot.”

Will looked at him. Nico looked back.

“Fine,” he said at last. “Thank you, doctor, for letting me sleep.”

Will rolled his eyes.

“It was just a suggestion, di Angelo. You know you can do whatever you want as long as no one is endangered. Or hurt.”

“You think I can’t go to bed with my hair wet,” he said, recalling the discussion they’d had some time ago. It had resulted in a very annoyed Will dragging a very baffled and pissed off Nico toward the Apollo cabin after the campfire ended. And then both Will and Kayla sat him down and dried his hair with a proper hairdryer, careful not to burn him and rambling on and on about getting a cold or whatever.

He still couldn’t figure out why that had made him cry later, when he was alone in his cabin.

“You might get a cold,” Will replied, giving him a stern look.

“That’s ridiculous,” he informed him. “And I’d be fine afterwards, anyway, so what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal—” he sighed through his nose. “No, we’re not discussing this right now. You’re supposed to nap and I’m stressing you out.” Will nodded to himself. “Go to sleep.”

“I’m trying,” Nico said, then realized he wasn’t, and promptly closed his eyes and moved to find a more comfortable position on the bed.

It didn’t really work. It was too quiet in the cabin, and his mind refused to calm down and his heart was too loud. And Will was still here, but Nico couldn't figure out why. Was he just going to watch Nico sleep? Stare at the ceiling?

He gave up and opened his eyes again, letting out a tired sigh as he watched Will watching his own fingers trace the geometrical pattern of the blanket.

“Want me to sing to you?” Will said without looking up at him.

Nico frowned. Will rarely ever sang on his own volition if not to heal someone.

And then Will seemed to come to his senses and realize what he had just offered, because he looked at Nico with wide, surprised eyes.

“I mean— I can’t actually sing, so that was a bad offer. I can entertain you with a medical pun, maybe?”

“Gods, please, no,” Nico mumbled without thinking.

“Fair enough, tibia honest.” Will rolled his eyes at himself. “How about... an improvised poem?”

Nico just stared at him for a moment.

“That sounds so bad that I’m kind of curious about it,” he mumbled, and immediately regretted it when he realized Will might actually get offended at this. Then he regretted it less when Will huffed out a laugh, his toothy smile there for a few seconds, then gone as he bit his lower lip and stared at the ceiling, trying to come up with something.

“Okay, let’s see…”

It was quiet for the few minutes that followed — so much that Nico suspected it had all been an elaborate strategy to get him to fall asleep.

And then Will took a deep breath before saying:

 _“Go the fuck to sleep / I worry about your health / Catch some z’s Death Boy.”_ He turned to Nico, giving him an expectant look.

Nico snorted.

“You actually have some potential, I guess,” he granted, “but that won’t put me to sleep.”

Will sighed much more dramatically than the situation demanded.

“Yeah, I figured. So I’ll have to resort to _lullabies_ _—”_

“I’m not a _baby.”_ Nico grumbled. “You could just read that textbook to me. Guaranteed coma.”

Will glared at him as if Nico had suggested they kick a puppy.

_“How super offensive / Don't insult my book, darn it / It was expensive.”_

Nico opened his mouth to say something, but then counted the syllables in his head and _groaned._

“Were you _cursed?_ Why are you subjecting me to this?” he complained.

Will was in silence for a full minute. Nico, looking at him, saw the way he was clearly trying not to smile, his eyes distant and calculating, so Nico figured there was another haiku coming.

He sighed in quiet acceptance of his fate.

 _“I don't understand / Why art comes naturally, Neeks / A blessing perhaps?,”_ Will recited at last, then chuckled.

“Haikus don’t even require that much effort.” And _that_ made Will finally stop.

“Oh, don’t say that,” he said with an alarmed look on his blue eyes. “All art requires effort, Neeks.”

“I thought you said art came naturally?”

Nico didn’t even attempt to hide his smirk as Will glared at him.

_“Haikus aren’t easy / Shut your mouth and go to sleep / Art is hard as fuck.”_

Nico rolled his eyes.

“Explains why you haven’t created many artistic things so far.”

_“Nico di Angelo.”_

Nico sighed.

“Fine.”

He turned around, closing his eyes, focusing on his breathing. He was, Nico noticed, surprised, almost relaxed. He yawned again.

Five minutes later, he was sleeping.

By the time he woke up, the gap between the curtains was letting in the last few rays of the sunset and Will was gone, but the space where he’d been lying in the bed was still warm.

ii.

The next time they napped together was a week later.

Will hadn’t slept well in a couple of days. It wasn’t unusual for him to occasionally get just a few hours of sleep, due to his own nightmares. That week, the nightmares haunted him for one night, and in the next, he stayed up because of an emergency surgery Paolo had needed. Nico still wasn’t sure if he wanted to know how the hell the Victor siblings had managed to cut off the poor boy's _arm_.

For once, Nico was thankful for his insomnia, because it allowed him to help in the infirmary while the procedure was going on.

“Just tell me if I do something wrong and he gets too near death.” Will had said in his doctor voice before asking Kayla to pass him the gauze.

So Nico just sat on a nearby chair and watched the operation. He was somewhere between awake and asleep by the time it was over, and Paolo was fine, so he mumbled a “good night”, got more comfortable, and gave into sleep.

Wow, he should watch more surgical procedures if it fought his insomnia like that.

He woke up in the chair, noting a few seconds later that both the pillow beneath his head and the thick, age-worn yellow blanket over him hadn’t been there when he fell asleep.

Then he saw Will was across the room, sitting on a similar chair and scowling while he read a textbook.

“You didn’t sleep?” Nico’s voice was husky — and apparently too sudden, because Will jumped, almost tearing up the textbook in the process.

“What the _fuck.”_

“Good morning to you too, sunshine.” Nico rolled his eyes and sat up. “You didn’t sleep?”

“Nah.” He half-shrugged. “I’ll catch up on it later.”

Nico glared at him.

“You’re always telling me people can’t repair the damage that lost sleep causes.” He shifted his gaze to a corner of the room. “Or whatever.”

“That,” Will closed the textbook. “Is true. But I needed to make sure I did everything right. And I think I did.”

Nico tried to feel for Paolo’s death aura.

“He’s not dead or dying,” he said. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”

Will stared at him for a long moment. Then he shrugged and stood up.

“For now, that will suffice. Breakfast? Austin should arrive for his shift in a minute or so.”

And so they headed to the dining pavilion like they did every day, once Austin came by. They ate in what would have been an uncomfortable silence, if either of them were a different person. As it was, they knew each other well enough by now that they knew words weren’t necessary at all times.

So Nico didn’t comment on how sluggish Will’s movements were, or how he had gotten more sugary foods than usual today. Didn’t comment when the other boy seemed to stumble his way into the infirmary instead of walking like a normal person. Didn’t mention how slumped his shoulders were. Didn’t mention that Will was stifling yawns much more than usual.

That is, until Sherman limped his way into the infirmary with Chiara’s help.

“Hi,” Will said, then frowned at himself and shook his head. “Please take a seat.”

Sherman took a seat.

“Okay, I’ll go back to the arena,” Chiara said in a bored tone before leaving. No one bothered to say anything in return, since this was an almost daily occurrence by now.

Will crouched down to stare at the bruised, inflamed ankle. Then he stared some more. And stared.

“What am I looking at?” he mumbled to himself, but Nico heard it all the same. He snorted.

“Okay, that’s it. Get out of here.” He dragged Will back up by the wrist, then promptly started pushing him towards the door. “You’re forbidden to do anything until you get some sleep. Nurse’s orders.”

“What—”

“No.”

“But—”

_“Sleep.”_

“I’m not—”

“You are. Just _go,”_ He commanded, pointing in the direction of the Apollo cabin. “And if I see you doing _anything_ before you sleep for a good three hours, I _swear_ I’m gonna raise entire skeleton armies until I pass out.”

Will stared at him with a frown.

“You wouldn’t.”

“You wanna test that theory?” He put his hands on his waist, raising his chin and giving Will his best glare to date.

Not that it worked, since 1) Will was apparently immune to glares from short 14-years-old brooding boys whom he happened to be best friends with (go figure), and; 2) Will was so sleep-deprived that he couldn’t really process anything. _Ugh_.

Will sighed.

“Sleep. Me. Going.”

“That’s right.”

Will walked exactly three steps out the infirmary before turning around and running back.

“But Sherman—”

“Gods, Will, I’ll take care of him. I’ve done this before, remember? And you’re not in any state to help, anyway.”

Will hesitated.

“Yeah. Yeah, okay. But maybe I should—” Nico intensified his glare and crossed his arms. “No? Okay. But do come get me at any sign of trouble. Maybe I should get Kayla—”

“I’ll get her. Now _shoo.”_

Will pouted, but he left, at last.

Nico turned to Sherman.

“Okay, so, I’ll go get Kayla, it’ll be just a minute. You’re not dying, so hang in there.”

Sherman rolled his eyes.

“Fucking typical.”

Nico decided to thoroughly ignore him.

Instead, he walked to a corner of the room and shadow-traveled to the archery range, appearing right behind Kayla, where her shadow was.

“Kayla,” he called.

“What the Ha—” Kayla shouted, turning and aiming the arrow at him before she realized who it was. “Ah. Neeks. Hey.” She put down her bow. “‘Sup?”

“Sherman is hurt and Will needed sleep. Can you supervise the procedure?”

“Oh, sure, but—” She stepped back when he reached for her wrist. “No shadow-travel. I’d rather run.”

So they ran back to the infirmary.

Nico hadn’t been lying when he said he’d done this before — set an ankle back into place. He was, according to Will, “remarkably good with bones”. So he took care of it without needing Kayla to instruct him at all, which he felt both proud and guilty about.

“Sorry for taking you away from your archery practice,” he said after Sherman’s foot was okay again.

“Nah, you did the right thing.” She patted him on the shoulder. “I’m guessing you were the one who kicked Will out of the infirmary as well?”

Nico rolled his eyes.

“Yeah. That _idiot._ He’d end up hurting himself if he kept going like that.” He sighed, distractedly adjusting his ponytail. “I should check up on him, actually. He might be trying to steal caffeine again.”

Kayla nodded solemnly.

“Can’t have that,” she agreed.

So she walked back to the archery range and he shadow-traveled to the Apollo cabin — outside, because he knew it was rude to just appear _inside_ someone’s room.

(Okay, he became aware of it _after_ he caught Will singing _awfully_ to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" inside his cabin. Both of them swore to never mention the incident again.)

He knocked on the door without much force. All the Apollo children had good hearing, anyway, and he didn’t mean to wake up Will.

He opened the door when no one answered, and sure enough Will was there, sound asleep on his bed — one in the middle of the other bunks.

Nico’s shoulders relaxed.

It had taken him a while to figure out that friendship meant taking care of one another in whatever way they could; that Will did not boss him around — that is, forced him to eat something other than pancakes, to get some sleep, to cool it with the shadow-traveling for a while so he could have a chance to heal — because he’d been bored and thus decided to pick on him to pass the time, but because he _cared._ He saw Nico’s self-damaging behavior and simply took care of it, because he took care of people.

It took Nico even longer to figure out that Will, himself, was not included in the group of people Will usually took care of. So, what option did Nico have, but to look out for the other boy as well?

He walked up to Will's bunk and got the duvet at the end of the bed, unfolding it and carefully setting it onto Will, who hummed in his sleep. How could that idiot forget to get a duvet? It was _December._

Seeing said boy hugging a pillow as he slept, now properly warm, meant mission accomplished, so Nico turned around, deciding to leave.

“Hmm, boy’s foot.” Will mumbled behind him, so low that Nico only heard it because it was quiet in the cabin.

“What?”

“Did you fix the boy’s foot?”

“Yeah.”

Will grinned, big and silly and— was he still even asleep?

“You’re great. I knew you could do it. I had no doubts…” He trailed off.

“Kayla helped me,” Nico informed him, just in case, unsure if Will was awake, but reckoning it was an important piece of information.

Will opened his eyes just a bit, squinting at him from his bed.

“Kayla is also great,” He decided. “Come here.”

Nico stepped closer to him.

Will groaned as he hoisted himself up, then held Nico by the wrists and attempted to pull him onto the bed.

“What the hell are you doing?” Nico asked calmly when he finally understood Will's intention.

“You didn’t sleep very well last night, either. That means you need a nap, too,” he informed the other boy, eyes closed and head down, as if looking up at his surroundings required energy he didn’t have.

Nico stared at him (which didn’t work, since Will had his eyes closed).

“Doctor’s orders,” he mumbled before lying down on the bed again, hugging the pillow close to him.

“You know, I have a note from my doctor that says I’m free to do whatever makes me happy to be here, as long as it doesn’t endanger or hurt anyone. _That_ means I can ignore your doctor’s orders.”

“It doesn’t, because one, I’m clearly only ever looking out for your happiness, and two, sleeping is good for the brain. If you don’t take a nap, it might endanger your nervous system. I think.”

“You _think?”_

In response, Will merely opened his eyes, looked up at Nico, and patted the small place beside him, all soft and inviting.

The _bed,_ not Will, of course.

Of course.

“Okay,” he gave in.

By the time he had taken his shoes off and was accommodated on the bed, Will was snoring softly again. He had fallen asleep so fast that Nico considered the possibility he had daydreamed the whole exchange.

Not that he would daydream about Will and him taking naps together. _Pfft,_ how ridiculous. Why would he want to lie down next to Will, close enough to feel his warmth and the way his torso moved up and down as he breathed and—

Okay, he had to think of something else.

He decided to follow Will’s example, because maybe, if he fell asleep fast enough, the troublesome thoughts wouldn’t catch up to him. So he ignored the desire to trace Will’s cheekbones and mouth and neck with his fingertips, ignored the stupid skeleton butterflies in his stomach, and closed his eyes.

iii.

Nico was still coming to terms with the fact that he was afraid of the dark.

It was a child’s fear, and it paralyzed him. He hated having to sleep with a nightlight on, hated not having full control over his shadow-travels, not being home in what was his element.

He knew there was a reason for his fear, but still. Sometimes, when it was difficult to sleep at night and his head just wouldn’t shut up, that fact, that _weakness_ ; it brought him down. Last night was like that.

Somehow Will always knew what he needed. Probably because of his healer skills, but Nico liked to think Will was just that attentive (and a good friend). Because Will could have commented on the dark circles under Nico’s eyes, on the slump on Nico’s shoulders (Will didn’t resist silently correcting him on that, though). But he chose not to. Instead, he happily babbled away about Kayla’s archery and Austin’s music.

(It was a bit impossible not to smile in face of that parental, proud Will. Not for the first time, Nico wondered whether Will rambled about _him_ too, to his friends and siblings.)

And in the end of the meal, Will turned to him and asked, “Hey, wanna spend the day together?”

Nico snorted. “We already spend everyday together.”

“Oh, but I was thinking we could do something different.”

“Like what?”

Will gave him a sideways smile. “It’s a surprise.”

“Hmph. It better be good.”

The surprise was Will dragging him to the lake, one hand holding a basket and a blanket under his arm, and the other holding Nico’s. It was a fairly common occurrence by now, but Nico still felt his heart racing every time. If Will ever noticed that, he never let it show.

They never went near the icy water. Instead, Will spread a picnic towel near a tree (with some difficulty, because it was too windy) and invited him to lie down. Nico did. Will covered them with the blanket.

“So,” he said, “what exactly are we doing?”

“We, my dearest friend, are going to find shapes in the clouds.”

“...Will. It’s January.”

“So?”

“There are no shapes in the clouds. The _entire_ sky is filled with clouds.”

“ _So_? More clouds for us to identify. That one, for example. That’s a… a cotton ball.”

“Will.”

“What? It looks like one.”

Nico breathed out, very slowly.

“How about that be… a very weirdly-shaped fish? Maybe the fish died and that's his spirit.”

"Hm," Will had a hand on his chin, as if he was thinking very hard, and Nico couldn't tell if he was acting or if he was naturally being this dramatic. "I like that. What about that one?" He pointed toward a similar cloud.

"I'm thinking that's a... sandwich."

"Oh. I was gonna say a pentagon."

"That's not how you play this game, that's too obvious. Look at that one, what do you think it is?"

“That’s… an unmade bed sheet.”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Will. That’s a dolphin.”

“That’s a dishtowel.”

“For Hades’ sake. That’s corn on the cob.”

So they kept at it. Nico discovered Will was surprisingly bad at this, while Nico was surprisingly good. It brought an image to the edge of his memory, of him and two other boys lying down in grass, pointing at the blue sky and naming shapes and laughing. He couldn't recall the names of the boys, but they were friends. Had been friends of his, back in Italy.

When he fell asleep, it was right into more sweet dreams that tasted like good memories, and he never wanted to wake up, for fear of forgetting again.

But he did wake up, and Will was asleep by his side, face turned to him, breathing easily and with the wind playing with his hair, an angel at peace, and Nico thought, _I never want to forget this either._ He thought, _please never take him away from me._

iv.

Apollo children rarely got sick, Nico had been told, and right now he was learning that sick Apollo children were _not_ fun to deal with. _At all._

Or maybe that was just Will uncanny ability to act like a giant baby.

“Stay away from the germ ball you call friend, Nico. Go. _Save yourself.”_ He had mumbled from under his duvet, right before a violent cough attack.

This didn't surprise Nico. So far, Will's coping mechanism to being sick and unable to heal himself was to apparently alternate between needing constant attention and affection, and trying to push everyone away in an attempt to hold onto his pride and independence.

So he acquiesced to merely rolling his eyes when Will added:

“But wait, do you think we can cuddle for a bit? I need some body warmth.” Idiot.

"What you need is more of honey lemon water," he said, already filling the small cup on the bedside of the Hades cabin, where Will was staying until he got better in an effort not to also make his siblings sick.

"You know, my mom would do the same thing for me when I got sick."

"So would mine." He paused. "I think." He wasn't sure if the image of his mom and Bianca his mind was conjuring up was a memory or wishful thinking. Better not to dwell on it.

Will drank the honey lemon water, then put the cup back in its place and lied down again. Nico took the chance to adjust the duvet, making sure Will was all covered.

"You know," Will said, patting the bed. "I wasn't lying when I said I needed body warmth."

"You already have a sunbeam directly on your face, I don't see why you need more warmth than that." But even as he said it he was moving to lie down with Will. He was not an idiot. He would never turn down an opportunity to get closer to him.

Having the curtains opened and the sunbeam heating him was annoying, but it predictably made Will feel a little better, so Nico didn't mind it too much.

"Are you aware," Will said, "That I appreciate you very much."

"Well, I _am_ nursing you back to health."

"No," Will's voice was serious, and when Nico raised his gaze to look at him, so were his eyes. "I mean, you."

He didn't add anything else, so Nico felt compelled to ask, "...Me?"

"You as a person." Will had a small frown, his eyes not straying from Nico's. "Not because you saved us but also because you saved us. Because of how selfless you are. Because you gave yourself a second chance. Because you're here with me."

Nico was not prepared to deal with this much emotion on a random afternoon.

"Will," he whispered, something very heavy settling on his throat and preventing his voice from coming out normally. "Go to sleep."

"I think..." But Will trailed off, thankfully. Nico didn't think he could deal with more of this. Whatever _this_ was.

A few days later, he would learn that Apollo children showed random side-effects while being sick. Some sung remarkably well, even better than usual, to the point of driving their listeners to tears every time. Some had very inspiring fever dreams and went on rampages of creation. Some only spoke in limericks or sonnets or any other poem configuration.

Some spoke only the truth.

And while he lied down with Will that afternoon, sunbeam warming them and making Will golden, he could contain whatever was happening inside him. He could force himself to close his eyes, focus on Will's breathing, and go to sleep along with him.

But at night, after he learned Will had only spoken the truth and when he was alone in the same empty, cold cabin, he turned the words inside his head. _I appreciate you_.

It was enough. It was enough.

But Nico still wished for more.

v.

Nico thought nothing, at the time, of Chiron asking to speak with Will in private.

He assumed it was another meeting for Chiron to tutor him, or for them to plan another trip into the city for supplies.

But then it got dark, and Will didn't arrive with Chiron for dinner, and Austin and Kayla also hadn't seen him in hours. He couldn’t find Lou Ellen or Cecil to ask them about Will’s whereabouts. He hoped they were together.

Nico forced himself to be rational about this. Will wouldn’t disappear without telling _someone_. It didn’t mean anything that no one had seen him in hours. Will wasn’t stupid, he hadn’t done anything to put himself in danger.

Probably.

Definitely.

But what he’d had no say in it? What if he’d been kidnapped, or got lost somehow...?

 _Fuck,_ this wasn’t helping anyone.

He looked in the strawberry fields, in the Big House, in the stables, in each cabin.

And he could no longer control his racing thoughts. His feet weren’t fast enough, so he gave in and disappeared into a shadow. And then another. And another. Rule of not appearing inside someone's cabin be damned.

By the time he found Will, crying in a corner of the Hera cabin, there was dark spots dancing in his vision, and he had the impression his head was spinning. He certainly couldn't focus on anything.

"Will," he whispered, too relieved for more words. And also too drained, apparently, because he fainted a moment later.

He regained consciousness in a comfortable bed. Will's warm, trembling hands were holding his face and glowing. He was humming a song under his breath, and his face was all wet from tears.

"Will," Nico said again, and Will startled. His hands didn't move away from Nico's face. "I'm alright."

Will sighed as if the whole weight of the world had just left his shoulders.

"Can you move?"

Nico tried to move. His fingertips first, then his arms, and finally his torso.

"I'm alright," he repeated, more convinced this time.

"You weren't gone for very long," Will's voice was strange. "Do you feel nauseous?"

Nico shook his head.

"Okay. Okay." Will nodded to himself. "We should get a Gatorade from the infirmary or something."

So they went, in silence, to the infirmary, which was thankfully empty at this hour of the evening. Will passed a bottle with the characteristically colorful drink in it to him.

If the mood was lighter, he would have made a stupid comment, and maybe Will would have smiled at him. Called him Death Boy.

But Will was unusually still, eyes fixed on Nico's face and expression gradually growing more somber.

Nico finished his drink.

"Are you feeling better?"

Nico nodded. He had a pretty good idea where this was going.

"Good. Now, what were you thinking?" His voice was exceptionally calm, but Nico still could hear all the judgement in it.

"What was I— What were _you_ thinking? Where were you all night? I thought you had died or been taken or—”

"But I wasn't!" Will's voice was higher now. "You, on the other hand... You _know_ you can't overexert yourself like that!"

"And _you_ should know better than run away to cry alone like that!"

Will flinched as if Nico had just slapped him, but Nico stood his ground.

"Fine. I'm sorry," His voice was unforgiving. "If I offended you by showing some emotion, di Angelo."

Di Angelo. _Wow._

"That's not what I meant _and you know it!"_ Nico huffed. He'd forgotten that Will could be absolutely aggravating when he wanted to be.

Will curled his hands into fists.

_"Enlighten me."_

"You're such a hypocrite. You're not alone, damn it! You're always on my case about it, but you still run away from us? What the hell is your problem?"

"You—" Will huffed. Then he closed his eyes, and the more deep breaths he took in, the more he seemed to calm down.

Nico, seeing that, forced himself not to say anything.

Then Will was crying again.

He knew he would forever have the transition engraved in his mind; the moment Will broke down in front of him, something Nico never dreamed of seeing. One second Will was on his feet, working on calming down, and the next he was on the floor sobbing, hands hiding his face.

Before he knew it, Nico was kneeling beside him, hands raised but hesitant near Will, not knowing how best to comfort.

"Will," he said for a third time that night, now with a sinking feeling that there was something he was missing. "What's wrong?"

Will sobbed again, but he looked up at Nico, a devastated expression contorting his face.

"Cecil is gone," Nico's heart stopped, and Will must have seen something in his face, because he was quick to add, "No, not like— He disappeared. His bunk was empty this morning. No one's seen him all day. No one knows where he _is._ If he ran away, or. Or..."

Nico finally crumbled, automatically sitting beside Will.

He and Cecil were close, or so he thought. He liked Cecil's no-nonsense approach to things. He liked his stupid jokes, and watching him bicker with Lou Ellen. He thought that if Cecil would run away, that he would tell Will first. That he wouldn't do it in the middle of winter, and not when communications were so bad. Cecil wasn't stupid.

And if he hadn't run away...

They sat in silence. He didn't know about Will, but Nico was trying not to think, because he couldn't panic, because if he panicked, he would do something rash and dangerous that wouldn't help anyone.

Probably.

He closed his hand into a fist.

And then his thoughts returned to the boy beside him. He thought of how Will hadn't run to him, or to Lou Ellen. Hadn't shared the news so they could all think of something to do. Hadn't shared his pain with others, like Will was always telling everyone to do _._

"You," Nico said, very quietly, "You think you're to blame for this, don't you? You think you... that you weren't good enough. That it was your job to keep him here."

Will was silent for a moment.

"No, not. Not like that," he finally said, voice as quiet Nico's. "This isn't about me. _But."_

Nico listened as Will took in a shaky breath.

"I do wonder if I, if I could have done _something._ If I didn't notice he needed help. It's like you all over again." Will wasn't looking at him, so he didn't see what a shock those words sent through Nico's body. "Someone I care about who... who leaves. And I stay here, wondering if there was something, anything at all that I could have done."

Nico didn't know what to say to that, because he felt the same way about all the campers they'd lost in the wars. Chiron said it was called _survivor's guilt._ He also said he would probably always feel this way.

Hesitant, he raised a shaking hand and put it on Will's shoulder. Everything – the floor, the room — it was all cold. But Will was always a source of warmth.

He felt privileged, then, that Will was being honest with him about himself. That he had broken down in front of him and hadn't hid the fact that he was crying, even if it took time. Even if it was an accident.

Because he hadn't known Will was also the type to hide. He wondered if Will hid from Lou Ellen and Cecil as well; if he had anyone, anyone at all, that he trusted to listen to him. To help hold him up when he couldn't do it alone.

He didn't think so.

"Hey, Will." He waited until Will was looking at him. "I understand not going to Lou Ellen. Maybe you don't want to tell her the news, but. Why didn't you come to me?"

Will searched into his eyes for a long time.

"I didn't think crying on your shoulder would help." Will must have seen the way those words hit Nico, because his expression changed from sad to alarmed. "It's not you, specifically. It's me. I don't. I don't want people to see me like this," he confessed, his hand curling into a fist. _"Especially_ not those who... who have too much to deal with already."

It took a while for Nico to understand.

 _"Will,"_   He couldn't help that his voice returned to its normal volume, sounding unusually loud in the previously quiet room. "We're a package deal, okay? You're my best friend here. And we're _equals_. You don't have to _spare_ _me from your problems because I have my own_. That's bullshit. I can handle it."

"But you shouldn't _have_ to," Will interrupted.

"But I _want_ to. You're my friend. I care about you." He paused. "I might not be able to solve your problems, but I can help. You're the one who's always telling me I can come to you for anything. Didn't you think... that I would be happy to return the favor?"

Will said nothing for a while. And then, "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, da—." He shut his mouth. Then he tried again: "Just let me help you. Let us _all_ help you, okay?"

Will looked at him, searching, unquiet and beautiful.

He settled for this: "I'll try."

And what else could Nico ask of him, really?

"And you shouldn't— you don't have to run away when you need space. You can let us know and we'll give it to you. But _hiding..._ you don't deserve that, Will. Does running away honestly make you feel any good?"

"It doesn't, I'm sorry."

"You know, it doesn't make me feel better either," he confessed, figuring this was a good time for it.

Will nodded, because he understood.

"Nico." His eyes were frightened. "What are we gonna _do_?"

Nico had a policy of not lying to the people he loved. So he didn't lie when he said:

"Hey," And here he put an arm around Will's shoulder, keeping him close. "It's all gonna be alright. We're gonna find him. We're gonna find him, okay? And then we'll help him in whatever way he needs." Without stopping to consider if this was allowed or not, he lifted a hand and wiped away the tears on Will's face. Gently, focusing on them and not on Will's eyes.

"Nico. What if—" He didn't finished the sentence.

"What if what, darling?" He was too focused on the fear on Will's face to feel mortified.

"What if... he _didn't_ run away and this is another war?" His breath hitched, and a fresh wave of silent tears came.

Nico didn't say anything, because this was the possibility that made his heart stop and his tongue feel as if it was filled with wasps.

So Will cried, and Nico wished he could do more than just listen to him.

Eventually, they both fell into silence again.

"Will you stay with me?" Will finally said, after they had calmed down and Nico's head was lying on his shoulder, and they were in a half-hug that made his muscles ache in protest.

"Will, you don't even have to ask."

"We should go back to your cabin. Your siblings are worried."

"Okay."

Will stood up first, offering a hand to raise Nico up. Nico took it.

So they went.

If Kayla and Austin noticed the faint tear tracks on Will's face, they had the common sense not to mention it. Will told them the news, calmly even though his voice was trembling a little, and his siblings seemed shocked. They all hugged, and they all went to bed when they made sure everyone was alright.

By an unspoken agreement, it was decided Nico would sleep in the Apollo cabin. Will simply gave him a pair of pajamas when Nico sat down in the empty bunk beside Will's and took off his shoes.

He was bone tired, dreading whatever turbulent dreams – or straight up nightmares – his mind would conjure to haunt him.

He needn't have worried. He never slept.

He didn't know what time it was when he felt movement on the other bed. He turned to see Will quietly standing up and grabbing the water bottle they always left on the bedside table. Nico watched him drink it and put it back in its place.

"Can't sleep?"

Will didn't seem surprised to see him awake.

"No. You?"

"No."

God, were their lives shitty.

"Come here, will you." He was too tired to care, to argue with himself about limits, about not letting it show how absolutely in love he was with Will Solace.

He patted his bed when Will merely stepped closer to him and stopped, not understanding.

And then: "Oh."

"Yeah. C'mon."

Will came on.

They snuggled together in the bed, close, but perhaps even closer than necessary. Nico didn't mind.

And then, very slowly, Will's hand touched the small of his back.

Nico opened his eyes, and Will immediately withdrew his hand.

"Sorry, I… Sorry. That was not okay, was it?"

Nico was quiet for a moment.

"It was, actually."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Less hesitant, as if he was afraid he would lose the courage, Will rested his arm on Nico's waist. It would have seemed like a very casual gesture, if Will's eyes hadn't been wide and hesitant still. Nico hoped Will couldn't feel his pulse, because it would all be ruined. His feelings would be out there.

But, perhaps.

Perhaps they were already out there. Perhaps they should be.

As if to prove a point, Will snuggled closer to him and finally closed his eyes, breathing very deeply.

"Sleep well, Nico."

"You too."

The sky was gaining hues of blue by the time he finally found rest. He still had bad dreams in the few hours he was asleep, but when he woke up, sweaty and panting and too hot and cold at the same time, Will was beside him, gently coaxing him awake and murmuring "I know, I _know_ ". Nico wasn't alone.

+

The day after that nap – or rather, the day it happened –, Will asked for his help for organizing the Apollo cabin. Nico said _sure_. So after lunch, they went in silence back to the Apollo cabin.

The whole camp seemed even quieter than usual – or maybe Nico was just imagining it, but he didn't think so. Nico himself had no desire to speak.

Will closed the door behind him.

"So, what do you need help with?"

Will stared at him.

"Nico, I—" He swallowed. He didn't seem to realized he'd started fidgeting with his hands. "Can I be honest with you?"

Nico didn't need to think about it. He just nodded.

"Last night," Will started, "I was so sad, but you let me hold you, and you were there for me, and it made me _happy_ , despite everything.” He took a deep breath. “I… I'd like to do it again. And again, and again, and again. Forever, probably."

Nico didn't understand.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I'm in love with you, Nico." The words sent a shock through Nico's spine. His start stopped, then started beating with twice its normal intensity.

_I'm in love with you, I'm in love with you, I'm in love—_

"I hope that's okay to say." Will was still staring at him, and Nico realized he was trying to hide how terrified he was.

And the thing was, Nico was terrified too. He had always been scared of his feelings, and even more scared to let them show. But if Will could find the courage to be honest, then so could he. Will deserved it. _Nico_ deserved it.

He said, "I'm in love with you, too."

Will's hands stopped moving.

"You are?"

"Yeah," Nico confessed, nodding his head. His heart was thumping happily; without his permission, his lips twitched into a smile, and then he was full on grinning.

At the sight of his face, Will huffed out a laugh, and there it was: the rare toothy grin that made him look like an entire different person and that Nico was in love with. He could admit that to himself now.

Nico had never felt more alive.

"You know, it'll sound stupid, but." Will had shut his eyes and was shaking his head, as if he couldn't believe he was saying this. " I get butterflies in my stomach when I look at you."

Aphrodite be blessed, he had found the perfect boy.

He thought about all the times he could've — that he _wanted to_ _have_ — said something. He thought of Will, warm and unwavering beside him. Of Will holding his hand, and smiling in a way he only did with those he loved, and opening up to him.

And, before he lost his courage, he slowly leaned in, gauging Will's reaction, and kissed the other boy on the cheek.

Will _melted_. He just slumped against the door and his legs slowly gave out, in a way that he slid down until he was sitting on the floor.

_"Wow."_

"Oh, yeah?" Nico said, heart suddenly full of courage at the sight of Will, always composed Will, all wide-eyed, open-mouthed and looking at him as if he'd put the stars in the sky. "Wait until I kiss you for real."

Will put a hand to his chest.

"You're gonna kill me," he complained.

Nico felt high, dizzy with the realization that all this time that he had felt without defense against all that Will was, all that Will made him feel, that he’d had the same effect over Will.

He huffed out a laugh, feeling stupid, until Will laughed along with him, and soon they were breathless and closer than before.

Nico was profoundly happy.

"Wanna nap together again?" He asked, and Will nodded, so they found their way into Will's bunk. They held hands all the while, and Nico didn’t mind if Will could feel his racing pulse, because he knew Will felt the same way.

They lied down, staring at each other. Everything felt full with possibility.

Will gently set a hand against his cheek, his fingertips bringing Nico alight while he mumbled, “Is this okay?”

“Yeah,” Nico confessed. It felt like he could breathe for the first time in a long while.

Nico had absolutely no doubt about what he wanted to do, and now he knew he could. So he leaned in, hesitant, asking for permission.

And Will met him halfway, kissing him square on the mouth.

He was careful, and his thumb kept caressing Nico's cheek. Nico loved every second of it; loved how the kiss sent his whole self into disarray, but the good kind, where everything was light and quiet.

They kissed again. And again and again and again, until they were used to each other. Nico got to trace Will’s cheekbones and mouth and neck with his fingertips, and Will got to draw circles on his back as he kissed the top of Nico’s head. Nico’s heart never stopped racing, and how could it, when Nico finally had the boy he wanted kissing him like he had dreamed about this?

They didn’t fall asleep this time.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this and that you're having an excellent day! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this fic! =D  
> 


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